Deleting an xylosidase-encoding gene increases growth and pathogenicity of .

INTRODUCTION

causes a devastating Verticillium wilt disease on hundreds of plant species worldwide, including cotton. Understanding the interaction mechanism between and its hosts is the prerequisite for developing effective strategies for disease prevention.

METHODS

Here, based on the previous observation of an xylosidase-encoding gene () in being obviously up-regulated after sensing root exudates from a cotton variety susceptible to this pathogen, we investigated the function of in the growth and pathogenesis of by generating its deletion-mutant strains ().

RESULTS

Deleting led to increased colony expansion rate, conidial production, mycelial growth, carbon and nitrogen utilization capacities, and enhanced stress tolerance and pathogenicity of . is a secretory protein; however, failed to induce cell death in based on transient expression experiment. Transcriptomic analysis identified 1300 genes differentially expressed (DEGs) between wild-type (Vd952) and during infection, including 348 DEGs encoding secretory proteins, among which contained 122 classical secreted proteins and 226 non-classical secreted proteins. It was notable that of the 122 classical secretory proteins, 50 were carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes) and 58 were small cysteine rich proteins (SCRPs), which were required for the pathogenicity of .

CONCLUSION

The RNA-seq data thus potentially connected the genes encoding these proteins to the pathogenesis of . This study provides an experimental basis for further studies on the interaction between and cotton and the pathogenic mechanism of the fungus.